Nevarra

Type

Location

Capital

Appearances

Nevarra is a warmongering nation[1] in central Thedas, west of the Free Marches, south of the Tevinter Imperium, and northeast of Orlais. It was originally one of the larger Free Marches city-states before it expanded rapidly to become a nation proper in the Exalted Age.[2] Thanks to enormous wealth and a strategic central location in Thedas, some claim Nevarra's power rivals that of the Orlesian Empire.

A citizen of Nevarra is called a Nevarran.

Contents

History

The Pentaghast clan is famous for their dragon hunter heroes of the past, each of whom led a crusade to hunt dragons to extinction. They were almost successful at this. While the dragons were a scourge for a very long time, the Nevarrans hunted mostly for dragonbone and glory.

In 2:46 Glory, Caspar Pentaghast, the first king from the Pentaghast family deposed Ionas, the previous ruler and seized the throne.[3]

In 3:25 Towers, the armies of Orlais and the Tevinter Imperium joined with the Grey Wardens to end the Third Blight. However, the victorious armies proceeded to occupy the territories they had liberated from the darkspawn. Nevarra was taken by Orlais except for Hunter Fell, and only regained independence in 3:65 Towers.[4]

In 5:37 Exalted, Tylus, the first Van Markham king of Nevarra, was crowned after having claimed to be a descendant of Kordillus Drakon's son, killed in Cumberland. Being a hero of the recent Fourth Blight, Tylus was able to stir nationalistic feelings in the western Free Marches against the growing power of Orlais. He proved his military might by winning several major battles against the Orlesians, establishing Nevarra as a new, growing power.[4]

In 8:70 Blessed, a war between Nevarra and Orlais over the control of the western hills around Perendale resulted in Nevarran victory. However, Orlais proceeded to sow dissent and rebellion among the locals in Perendale, who resented Nevarran rule.[5]

War with Orlais

In 8:82 Blessed, Nevarra began a bloody campaign of conquest within the Free Marches, encouraged by their taking of Perendale. They are stopped by Cade Arvale, who is named Champion of Tantervale for his deed.[6]

In 8:99 Blessed, dragons devastated the countrysides in Orlais and Nevarra, and all attempts to slay them ended in disaster. In response, Divine Faustine II abruptly names the Dragon Age, saying that it will be an age of violence and upheaval.[5]

Politics

Nevarra has a history of royal dynasties, which has persisted into modern day. Most Nevarran monarchs have been members of the frequently militarily-gifted Pentaghast clan, under whom alliances with other Free Marches states have been courted or coerced to form a powerful confederation under Pentaghast leadership.[7]

A long war against Orlais over the mineral-rich Blasted Hills, a region between the two countries ended during the Blessed Age with a Nevarran victory. However, rebellion was fomenting in the conquered area due to the imposition of harsh taxes by the Nevarrans, as well as the support of Orlais.[7]

By the Glory Age, rule of the city-state had changed hands many time, with poor leadership causing Nevarra to fall well behind other Marcher city-states. Prior to the First Pentaghast Dynasty, the ruler was Ionas, a physically frail man manipulated by his advisers and whose rule added to Nevarra's slow decline.[8] The destruction of the city-state from within seemed imminent when rumor spread that Ionas's advisers may have brokered deals to cede struggling Nevarra to a greater power, such as Orlais, for profit. This crisis was averted, however, when Caspar Pentaghast, a man of the small town of Hunter Fell, plotted to overthrow the enfeebled king, and did so during the Glory Age. With Caspar began Nevarra's long history of family dynasties.

First Pentaghast Dynasty

Caspar's family held the throne from the Glory Age into the Exalted Age, approximately three hundred years.[9] The family's rule was only threatened during a brief period when Orlais occupied the land during a Blight, and was reclaimed when Caspar II ousted the Orlesians.

Van Markham Dynasty

Following the Fourth Blight, general Tylus van Markham, who claimed descent from Kordillus Drakon I, raised the populace against the Pentaghast clan, claiming the dynasty had forgotten the values they once held and had become corrupt and dissolute.[10] King Nestor Pentaghast was killed in the rebellion, stabbed sixteen times upon his throne, and those of his clan who remained fled to Hunter Fell, their ancestral home. Tylus and three other Van Markham kings transformed Nevarra into the modern country it is today, overtaking large parcels of Orlesian land to do it.

Second Pentaghast Dynasty

In the Steel Age the last Van Markham king perished with no male heirs. His daughter married a Pentaghast and joined the warring clans. This union allowed Pentaghast rule to return with Van Markhams enjoying powerful status among the nobility.[11]

Modern Day

The current ruler of the nation is Markus Pentaghast, a old man of weak health and uncertain sanity.[12] His rule has been condemned by those who claim his Mortalitasi advisers are ruling through him, much as Ionas's did so long ago. Pentaghast and Van Markham relatives alike are vying to replace the old king, but some say it is time for the two ruling families to cede power to a new family. Ferdinand Pentaghast, younger brother of Markus, is the next in line to rule. However he is also old and has no interest in ruling, and neither brother have any known children. The future of the Pentaghast dynasty hangs in the balance.

Geography

Settlements

Cumberland: A city on the Waking Sea, giving it access to trade with the rest of the Free Marches and beyond. Over the last century, Cumberland has taken advantage of this to expand into one of the largest cities in Thedas.[7] Cumberland is also where the College of Magi routinely convene and the seat of the Grand Enchanter.

Hasmal: once a city state of Free Marches, conquered by Nevarra in Blessed Age.[14] It sits along the Minanter River. There is some inconsistent information about this city.[15]

Nevarran magic

Mages of Nevarra have more political power than mages in other countries under the aegis of the Chantry, and wield nearly as much power within Nevarra as the magisters of the Tevinter Imperium.

Nevarrans have a unique relationship with magic and death. They believe that when a dead soul crosses the Fade it displaces a Fade spirit. In order to provide safe hosts for such spirits they mummify their corpses and place them in elaborate crypts in the Grand Necropolis. This task is entrusted to a secretive order of mages known as Mortalitasi, founded by a Tevinter mage named Vitus Fabria, who first preached the idea. Its gray-robed members enjoy wealth and political power as they often serve as advisers to Nevarran nobility, including the kings.[17]

Because they rarely leave Nevarra, much of the Mortalitasi's practices are shrouded in mystery and fear, even to mages outside the nation's borders. They are rumored to be a death cult and experiment with necromancy, but whatever the truth, they are arguably the most well-schooled mages outside of the Tevinter Imperium.[18]